Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Surprising nearly everyone present, Mikoto extended a hand to the downed Vor, asking, "Can you stand?" with an awkward smile on her face. She hadn't expected Vor to pee herself, so, seeing the puddle of faintly golden liquid beneath the woman's body, the notion she had taken things a little too far briefly crossed her mind.Staring at the hand proferred by Mikoto, a look of confusion flashed across Vor's face. Mercy wasn't exactly commonplace in the South. Compassion was even rarer. Thus, for a brief moment, Vor found herself sincerely confused by Mikoto's behavior.With Vor staring at her hand, the awkwardness Mikoto was experiencing increased by several orders of magnitude. Fortunately, just as the tension increased to the point it could be cut with a knife, Vor reached out to grab her hand, stating, "It is the privilege of the strong to show mercy to the weak..." in a manner that sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than others.Smiling awkwardly in response to Vor's remark, Mikoto pulled the much taller woman to her feet before shifting her attention to the ground. The previously steamy puddle was now nowhere to be seen. This caused Mikoto to feel considerably relieved while Vor, confused by the absence of liquid, briefly tensed as a tingling sensation spread across her body. In its wake, every trace of her accident had vanished.Understanding what must have happened, Mikoto's smile became markedly more genuine as she said, "It looks like Vahn decided to spare you from additional embarrassment. Remember this if or when you decide to try and hunt him in the future."Feeling much less awkward now that Vor was cleaned up, Mikoto gave the 185cm tall woman a pat on the shoulder before placing her hands into the pockets of her hoodie and returning to her seat. This left the ashen-haired Valkyrie staring at her back, an inordinately rare glimmer of appreciation contained in her amber eyes. She had no intentions of abandoning her mission but Mikoto's power and words had given her ample reason to reconsider her approach.With that in mind, Vor elected to return to her seat. Her legs were still a little shaky, but, in spite of this, she managed to appear stoic and graceful as she slowly meandered past table after table of greedy, licentious-eyed Gods. Her beauty and power had left a deep impression on each of them, so, after seeing her defeated by Mikoto, they couldn't help harboring intentions toward her. After all, in the Divine Realm, it wasn't even remotely difficult to force someone's obedience.........Returning to Vahn's side, Mikoto immediately returned to her Pikachu form as the former extended his hands to catch her. He understood, better than even Mikoto, how taxing her transformation was. It literally used the energy contained within her Ego as fuel. From the perspective of others, she was weaponizing her Soul to achieve feats that were otherwise impossible. As a result, decreasing in size was the least of her concerns. If she pushed herself, amnesia and other, far more serious side effects were possible.Under normal circumstances, performing such a feat would take years, if not several millennia to fully recover. Fortunately, Mikoto was one of Vahn's Templates, so, with a steady supply of Source Energy, she was bound to recover in a few hours. She just needed a bit of rest, and, as strange as it sounded, an ample amount of headpats."You did well...I'll be sure to reward you plentily once we return..."Though she was perfectly capable of speaking, Mikoto replied with a lazy, "Pikaaaa..." as she curled up in the spot previously occupied by the Jade Rabbit. Vahn had entrusted the pure white bunny to Fenrir when he intervened in Vor's attempt to bait Nezha into a deathmatch. As a result, both Jade and her master were currently trembling as Fenrir ran her soft yet exceptionally deadly paws across its head, back, and butt.........In the wake of Mikoto's one-sided assault on Vor, the tensions within the banquet hall had become palpable. Many of the Gods couldn't even begin to understand what happened. They just knew that the power unleashed by Mikoto was something bordering the taboo.Fortunately, before things could become too awkward, Huangdi spoke out to encourage the next set of combatants to proceed into the arena. His words were initially met with silence until a young woman with white hair and a matching qipao rose to her feet and said, "Well then, if everyone else is too afraid to step up, I'll gladly steal the spotlight."At 165cm tall, the white-haired woman was somewhat tall for a female in the East Side. The traits that caused her to stand out, however, were the crimson streaks in her loosely ponytailed hair, her vibrant amethyst eyes, and elf-like ears. Of course, compared to the jagged crimson horns framing her head, the flame-tipped white tail protruding from her backside, and the crimson scales covering her forearms, they were relatively plain.While the Gods and Goddesses around her were more than a little surprised, Huangdi adopted one of his grandfatherly smiles as he caressed his chin and remarked, "Nuuba...It's good to see that not every member of the younger generation has forgotten their filial responsibility..."Giggling in response to Huangdi's words, the tail of the white-haired woman gently swayed back and forward as she covered the lower half of her face with a fan and said, "It's only natural that the children take care of their parents after retirement. Now then, who should I challenge~?"Though she wasn't particularly famous outside of the Heavenly Domain, the white-haired woman, Nuuba, was actually the daughter of Huangdi. In other words, she was a direct descendant of the Yellow Dragon Emperor and the Imperial Princess of the Heavenly Dragon Clan.As if she hadn't already decided on her opponent, Nuuba proceeded to pass her gaze over each of the Gods and Goddesses in her surroundings. She had never been given an official rank due to her responsibilities as Imperial Princess. Thus, if she felt so inclined, she could challenge anyone in the banquet hall. In the end, however, her glowing amethyst eyes settled on Vahn as she mused, "Oh~? This could be interesting. I've always wanted to see how I compare against a Pure-Blooded Dragon. I wonder if this Big Brother will do me the courtesy of accepting my challenge~?"While he normally wouldn't mind accepting such an offer, it had only been a few minutes since Vahn refused a match against Vor. Since Nuuba was unranked, their match wouldn't really serve any purpose. Rather, due to her draconic heritage, he would basically be shooting himself in the foot by accepting her challenge."I'm afraid I must refuse. I promised my companions they would be given the chance to cut loose before I personally enter the arena. If you're serious about challenging me, you'll have to convince them you're worthy of my time."Though Vahn's words may have sounded like an insult, none of the Gods or Goddesses present, Nuuba included, expressed anger or amazement. It was perfectly normal, at least in the Heavenly Domain, for powerful and high-ranking members of the court to send forth subordinates to deal with would-be challengers. After all, if a challenger couldn't even beat one of their subordinates, what meaning was there in fighting them directly?Shifting her attention from Vahn to Fenrir, the corners of Nuuba's smile curled upward as she said, "Very well, then. Might I have the pleasure of hearing this Little Sister's name...?"After returning the Jade Rabbit to Vahn, Fenrir rose to her feet before answering, "Fenrir Mason." in a curt, no-nonsense tone of voice. This was immediately noted by the majority of the Gods present, as, during Mikoto's introduction, she had also given the name Mason.Nodding her head in approval, Nuuba snapped her fan shut before casually tossing it to one of her servants as she said, "Very well, Fenrir Mason. My name is Nuuba, Goddess of Droughts, Daughter of the Yellow Emperor, and Vice-Leader of the Heavenly Dragon Clan. I look forward to facing you on the field of battle."With that said, Nuuba stepped out of her traditional Chinese silk slippers before turning into a blur that promptly appeared near the center of the arena. It wasn't the most extreme example of speed, but, considering she hadn't empowered her body in the slightest, it was pretty impressive.While others might have struggled to follow Nuuba's movements, Fenrir was easily able to track the white-haired Goddess with her icy blue eyes. Her eyesight was currently sharper than ever, so, for a moment, Nuuba appeared to be moving in slow motion near the beginning and end of her feat.Shifting her gaze to her Master, Fenrir telepathically asked, ("What do you want me to do, Master? She gives off an aura of arrogance but I don't think she's a bad person. Should I go easy on her?")As if he was simply giving Fenrir permission to go, Vahn responded with a curt nod while internally answering, ("Let her control the pace and see how she chooses to escalate things. Even I'm not too sure about your current limits so it's best to play it safe. If anything happens, I'll step in.")Returning a nod, Fenrir flexed her razor-sharp claws, which, after her ascension, resembled bluish-white, slightly transparent crystals. A similar translucence could be observed in her fur, which, due to the energy contained within, appeared icy near the tips and blacker than the night sky near the roots.Following Nuuba's example, Fenrir ran forward before pouncing into the arena using raw speed. This earned her a marginally surprised look from the white-haired dragoness, who, understanding Fenrir's intentions, remarked, "Oh~?" before following it up with a smile and adding, "This is going to be fun."Punctuating her words, Nuuba adopted a stance reminiscent of the Southern Dragon Style of Kung Fu. She brought her left foot forward, angled inward, while both of her hands came up in a relaxed stance that emphasized the sharp, shimmering red and green scales covering her forearms, hands, and fingers. At the same time, the flame on the tip of her tail began burning even more vibrantly, almost as if she were a Charizard preparing to use Blaze. The temperature around her body began to skyrocket, and, true to her name, the surrounding tiles began to dry up as if an extreme drought had spread through the area.A stark contrast to the scene on Nuuba's side of the arena, a layer of pure white frost spread from the base of Fenrir's feet as she adopted a low, quadrupedal stance. This would have created quite a tantalizing sight under normal circumstances, but, thanks to the fur-covered waistcoat she donned prior to entering the arena, the spectating Gods could only glower as the fur across Fenrir's body shifted from a pale blue to a stark, snowy white.Though she was tempted to comment on Fenrir's ridiculous stance, Nuuba never had the chance, as, the moment she opened her mouth to speak, the former lunged toward her with a speed that sent shivers up her spine. Her instincts were also screaming at her to avoid a direct confrontation, so, despite being supremely confident in her physical strength, Nuuba sidestepped Fenrir's charge like a matador, saying, "Dragon Plucks the Peaches of Immortality."Empowered by her words, fiery runes manifested on the scales of Nuuba's right hand as she reached forward to try and grab Fenrir's leg as the latter zipped past her. To her surprise, a layer of ice immediately spread across the surface of her skin as icy cold energy invaded the inner channels of her arm.Retracting her hand in an instant, Nuuba relied on her instincts to evade a remarkably swift kick from Fenrir's paw before using the same hand to send out a wave of red-ocher flames. When she saw even her flames get cover in ice, the pupils of her eyes contracted to thin slits as she promptly bounded away and muttered, "I may have spoken too soon..."......(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Mikoto is a big softie...','Chang'e is experiencing a lot of firsts today...','When the drugs wear off and you have to face reality...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

With even her most casual attacks generating a wave of frost that impacted the arena like a ten-thousand-car freight train, Fenrir was more than a little surprised by her power. It felt like there was an infinite well of energy where the pit in her stomach used to be. The sometimes-dull, sometimes-agonizing hunger that had accompanied her throughout her entire life was completely absent. In its place, a feeling of satiety she had never known before caused an uncontainable giddiness to slowly swell within her chest.Seeing the 'battle-hungry' expression on Fenrir's face, a wry smile developed across Nuuba's as she circulated her Heavenly Qi in an effort to dispel the frigid energy gradually pooling within her veins. She had never fought an opponent with such an extreme affinity with Yin before, and, after this, she resolved herself never to fight another."You're really something, you know that...?"After evading a blast of energy more than ten meters in diameter, Nuuba attempted to buy a bit of time by making conversation. Fortunately, Fenrir wasn't in a particular hurry to deal with her, so, the moment she heard the white-haired dragoness's remark, her tempestuous assault gradually ceased as she replied, "Thanks. You're pretty strong yourself."Adopting an even wrier smile in response to Fenrir's remark, the dragon heart within Nuuba's chest began to pump with ever-increasing vigor as frigid energy in the form of pure white vapor expelled from her pores."It pains me to admit but there's no way I can defeat you in my current form. I normally wouldn't do this during a friendly competition but I'd rather not lose my first match in sixty years..."Punctuating her words, Nuuba's body pulsed as a tremendous volume of steam erupted from her body. The temperature in her surroundings began to increase at a phenomenal rate as a reddish-pink luminescence manifested in the center of her chest. Those with sharper eyesight would have been able to make out that this was Nuuba's heart beating within her chest, the energy contained within so dense and potent that it resembled the surface of a star.Under normal circumstances, Fenrir would have interrupted Nuuba's very obvious transformation sequences. Instead, the smile on her face grew into a 'too large' grin as the snowy white fur on her forearms and legs began to spread up her arms and thighs. The wild and untamed hair that flowed from her head also began to elongate as two hazel-brown horns emerged a few centimeters above her brows. Then, as if a dam had broken in the back of her mind, Fenrir's body suddenly exploded into motes of bluish-white light that resembled snow.Staring wide-eyed at the veritable avalanche of ice elemental energy sweeping towards her, Nuuba crossed her arms as the heart in her chest began to pulsate even faster. She ended up being swept up and slammed against the barrier surrounding the arena, but, instead of losing hope, an excited smile developed across her face as the light from her chest slowly climbed up her neck...Just as it seemed like the entire arena was going to be buried in tens of meters of snow, a roar that shook the banquet hall sounded in the hearts and minds of everyone present. Nuuba's body, similar to Fenrir's, suddenly erupted, but, instead of producing ice and snow, her half of the arena began to fill with a hazy smoke that billowed outward like the pyroclastic flow of an erupting volcano.From within the surging tide of smoke, a massive oriental dragon covered in dark green scales and fiery pink runes attempted to bite at something unseen within the center of the arena. Its maw was more than seven meters wide while the ivory white, extremely fierce-looking teeth lining its interior resembled the rock formations of a limestone cave. The canines, in particular, were larger than most adults, yet, in spite of this, Nuuba's head ended up reeling backward as a pristine white appendage smacked her in the lower jaw.Though she managed to recover in an instant, her serpentine body coiling like a cobra preparing to strike, Nuuba ended up getting knocked even further back as a bluish-white meteor slammed into her chest. Immediately thereafter, a soul-shaking roar resonated throughout the banquet hall as the snowy-white figure revealed itself to be an inordinately large wolf with a majestic mane of fur, large horns, and features reminiscent of a western dragon. This included a pair of fur-covered wings, and, most prominently, a long, incredibly soft-looking tail.........Seeing Fenrir transform into a dragon, the look on Vahn's face could best be described as ecstatic. There was a massive grin on his face, and, though he did his best to restrain it, his heart was beating fast enough to create small ripples in the surrounding space.Though Vahn had once lamented the possibility of Fenrir transforming into a True Dragon, such sentiments were nowhere to be seen at the present moment. All he felt was happiness, excitement, and, most notably, infatuation with the fluffy white dragon currently sinking its teeth into Nuuba's neck. Fenrir's dragon form was everything he had expected it to be, and, were it not for the fact she was currently engaged in a brawl evocative of the end of the world, he would have buried himself into her veritable mountain of fur without hesitation.........Sensing her Master's excitement, Fenrir's own was increasing at an exponential rate as she persisted in the face of Nuuba's struggles. It said quite a lot that the fiery Long's body was durable enough to resist her teeth and claws. There was also a potent Yang Elemental Energy contained within Nuuba's blood, so, despite the aura shrouding Fenrir's body decreasing her surroundings to a point nearing absolute zero, the serpentine dragon refused to go down...In an effort to dislodge Fenrir from her body, Nuuba basically embraced the former with her four-taloned claws before ascending towards the barrier overhead with momentum reminiscent of an extinction-level event. The impact caused a cataclysmic pulse of energy, and, for a brief moment, the nearly indestructible barrier resembled shatterproof glass.To Nuuba's surprise, Fenrir's much smaller body actually gave beneath the force of the blow. This would have been a cause for celebration in most other circumstances, but, as if she had no bones in her body, Fenrir's figure began to stretch and deform to surround Nuuba's torso. At the same time, several other heads protruded from her body before sinking their icy white teeth into her arms and neck.Issuing a roar that caused the cracks in the barrier's surface to exacerbate, Nuuba attempted to pry Fenrir away only for her claws to pass through the latter's body as if it were a ferrofluid clinging to a magnetic surface. Panic quickly began to set in moments later as the frigid energy gathering within Nuuba's body caused the border between the affected and unaffected areas to scream out in pain. She was doing her best to expel the frigid energy, but, the longer Fenrir clung to her, the quicker it compounded.Speaking out for the first time since her transformation, Nuuba bellowed, "GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME...!" as the fiery light between her ventral scales began to build in intensity. A similar light rose in the back of her throat before she released a veritable beam of fiery, reddish-pink energy against her own body. She didn't care if she ended up damaging herself in the process. She wanted Fenrir off of her.Unable to react in time, Fenrir felt a dull sensation in the back of her mind as she lost feeling in a large part of her body. It was only when Nuuba's catastrophically powerful breath began to fade away that she realized the reason. Every part of her body affected by the blazing beam of energy had effectively been melted down and reduced to ash. The reason she felt a dull sensation in the back of her mind was because five of the seven heads she had grown were reduced to ashes along with the majority of her body...Realizing the dangers of staying put, Fenrir's remaining mass took the form of puppy-sized versions of her previous self. One, borrowing from her experience in the Dungeon of Danmachi, snaked her way up Nuuba's body in an attempt to find a blind spot. This was a common tactic she had used to deal with large monsters, as, the moment you moved outside the scope of their range and abilities, they were powerless to protect themselves. As for her other self, she became a sacrificial pawn that leaped away from Nuuba's body before unleashing an abyssal-black beam of energy that radiated a bluish-white light along its edges. This was her own version of a dragon's breath, and, thanks to her mastery over Devouring Laws, it was capable of cutting through almost anything.With Fenrir's breath leaving a shallow trail across her body, Nuuba writhed in rage and indignation as she attempted to swat the bear-sized pup out of the air. At the same time, she tried to scratch at the version of Fenrir attempting to bore into the back of her head, but, much like before, her claws simply phased through the seemingly immaterial form of the unreasonably determined wolf...Seeing the skyscraper-sized tail descending towards her, Fenrir spontaneously relaxed her entire body. As a result, she ended up being splattered into innumerable tiny pieces, pieces that quickly coalesced into a locus-like cloud of insect-sized wolf-dragons. This caused a remarkably human expression of disbelief to appear across Nuuba's draconic visage as memories of a certain golden-haired monkey surfaced in the back of her mind...Deciding she would rather avoid having to experience someone boring into her skull, Nuuba surprised the swarm of mini-fens by declaring, "I surrender...!" in an audibly stressed tone. Bluish-white light immediately enveloped her body before her human form promptly manifested outside the arena.Not expecting her opponent to suddenly surrender, the swarm of Fenrir's found themselves at a momentary loss. The battle had been much closer than she expected so she couldn't help feeling an inkling of disappointment now that things had ended in such an anticlimactic way...Pulling herself together, quite literally, Fenrir returned to her human form only to deadpan when she realized how unusually close the ground was. Everything in her surroundings also appeared a lot bigger than usual, so, when she finally got a good look at herself, Fenrir was unsurprised to find out she had become a chibi. Far more troubling was the fact that she was completely naked.Though her expression remained a deadpan, Fenrir covered her chest with her paws while curling up her tail between her legs. Her stupefaction caused her to completely forgot about her ability to transform, and, more notably, her ability to create clothes using magic. She had become a little too reliant on her [REquip] system, so, now that it had been destroyed, she ended up freezing in place as hundreds of gods eyed her with covetous gazes.Baring her teeth, a blood-curdling aura began to exude from Fenrir's body until a thick and heavy fur coat spontaneously covered her body. At the same time, Vahn appeared right in front of her, his figure towering to the point she barely reached past his hips. Then, in a casual motion, he scooped her up in his arms, an affectionate smile on his face as he leaned in close to her and said, "You're so unbelievably amazing..."Feeling her anger and bloodlust fade in an instant, an uncharacteristically bashful smile developed across Fenrir's face as she shrank in her Master's embrace. This elicited an amused laugh from Vahn, who, ignoring the resent-filled gazes of more than half the banquet hall, made his way down from the arena before turning to the stunned Nuuba and saying, "Thank you. Fenrir hasn't been able to cut loose like that in a long time. Once this is over with, I'll make sure to prepare a gift for you and your father."Blinking in surprise, Nuuba opened her mouth, but, before she could find the words to speak, Vahn had already teleported back to his table. Shortly thereafter, Fenrir transformed into her puppy form, so, from the perspective of others, he was now surrounded by three inordinately adorable animals, each nestling close together as Vahn gently caressed their sleeping figures with a smile.........(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Plus Ultra','Never underestimate a Dragon's Breath Attack','I'm not jealous...I just have a habit of grinding my teeth...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Respawning outside the arena, the first thing Nezha did after recovering from their brief stupor was point toward Vor and shout, "You cheated! I want a rematch...!" in a surprisingly girly tone. They had developed the habit of forcing themselves to speak in a 'manly' tone, but, whenever they got upset, their voice became noticeably higher pitched.Staring down at Nezha, Vor's expression remained apathetic and unreadable as she answered, "Very well. I will accept your challenge on the condition we use the Holmgang ruleset. I'm not in the habit of entertaining children who do not consider the consequences of their actions..."Without even bothering to ask what the Holmgang ruleset was, Nezha was about to agree when a hand suddenly plopped down atop their head. When they attempted to look up and curse whoever dared to touch their head, said hand roughly ruffled their hair as its owner said, "The Holmgang is a fight to the death. Don't go throwing your life away, kiddo."Feeling the hand leave their head, Nezha looked up to find Vahn staring down at them with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Then, before they could even think to respond, he pointed towards the direction of the banquet, adding, "Your friend is worried about you."Following the direction of Vahn's finger, Nezha noticed Ao Bing looking over with an anxious look on his face. A wave of guilt immediately washed over them, yet, in spite of this, they glared back at Vahn, asking, "So what? I'm not a child that needs so-"Though they had intended to tear into Vahn, Nezha's expression morphed into one of confusion as the former suddenly held out a bright yellow object. For a brief moment, they had no idea what the object was supposed to be until memories of the match between Mikoto and Lei Gong resurfaced in their mind.Taking advantage of Nezha's momentary silence, Vahn stated, "I'll give you this lifesized Pikachu plushie if you return to your seat. I noticed how you were looking at my partner. Since I can't give away the real thing, this should suffice as a substitute. How about it...?"Without waiting for Nezha's response, Vahn tossed the plushie toward them. Nezha ended up catching in on reflex, and, feeling how soft it was, their eyes immediately lit up as a faint smile spread across their face. This was immediately replaced by a scowl, but, having born witness to Nezha's cute side, Vahn couldn't help smiling even as they snarled, "Do I look like someone who plays with dolls!?"Following their outburst, Nezha appeared to set the Pikachu plush aflame. In reality, they placed it into one of the many rune-covered rings adorning their fingers. Then, with the middle fingers of both hands raised, they added, "Whatever. You can both go fuck yourselves." before sticking out their surprisingly long tongue, taking a few steps back, and pivoting on their heel. After that, they placed their hands into their pockets before returning to their seat without any additional fuss.(*What a remarkable example of a Tsundere...*)"No kidding..."Though Nezha's words and actions made him want to sit down and have a talk, Vahn set that aside for the time being as he shifted his attention to Vor. She had been closely scrutinizing him without so much as blinking, so, with a slight smile on his face, he asked, "Like what you see?"Similar to how she had created a gap in Nezha's mental state, Vor's response sharply contrasted the impassive look on her face as she flatly replied, "Indeed. The structure of your face and body, while markedly different from aesthetics in the South, is impressive to the point of being called sublime. I would even go so far as to describe you as flawless..."Amused by the ashen-haired beauty's calculated shamelessness, a playful smile developed across Vahn's face as he casually countered, "You're not so bad yourself."Raising her brows, Vor appeared just the slightest bit offended as she remarked, "Your words strike like a dagger to my heart. Before now, I had always taken pride in my beauty. It appears I'll need to work a bit harder if there are still people who would refer to my looks as 'not bad'..."Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn resisted the urge to inform her that she wouldn't even place within his Top 100 in terms of looks. After all, while their appearances might lose out when evaluated by others, Vahn considered each and every member of his harem to be head and shoulders above the competition. Immediately following them were his children, so, while Vor had an attractive face and a truly remarkable figure, they only left a shallow impression on Vahn's heart. If they never saw each other again after today, he wouldn't feel as though he had lost something...Believing that Vahn was trying to rile her up, an ostensibly amused smile spread across Vor's face as she shouldered her lance and remarked, "Though I am thoroughly enjoying our back and forth, I do believe there is another reason these fine Gods and Goddesses have gathered here today. I'm more than willing to continue this discussion at a later date. For now, it would be one of my life's greatest honors to record my name in the legend of the Little Garden's most prominent rising star..."Noticing the genuine eagerness contained within Vor's aura, Vahn's smile curled up at the edges as he promptly replied, "I'll pass. I didn't come here to steal the limelight, and, as you pointed out, our audience has gathered here for a specific purpose. Watching outsiders battle might be entertaining, but, in regards to the purpose of this event, a conflict between us is pointless."Punctuating his statement with a smile and a wave, Vahn turned around without waiting to hear Vor's response. As a result, the ashen-haired Valkyrie could only stare in impassive stupefaction as he walked away. She had never expected a Pure-Blooded Dragon to pass on the opportunity to do battle. They were among the most prideful and battle-hungry creatures in the entire Divine Realm. The notion that one would refuse to fight had never, not in tens of thousands of years, crossed her mind...Before Vor could completely gather herself, an explosion strong enough to send her crashing into the arena's barrier rocked the center of the nigh-indestructible field. This caught the entire banquet hall by surprise, as, despite stepping down fewer than five minutes ago, Mikoto had reappeared in the center of the arena. The thing that truly surprised onlookers was the fact that her previous outfit was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her body was garbed in a bright, bluish-white light that perfectly concealed her figure. Above her temples, two antennae-like horns protruded from her head as two hagoromo-like sashes formed from pure lightning elemental energy coiled around her shoulders."Congratulations. You've managed to piss me off."Charging toward Mikoto the moment she recovered, Vor's expression became serious as the dress around her waist flared out before transforming into a pair of mechanical wings. The ends of said wings promptly expanded to reveal thrusters, as, despite hailing from one of the oldest factions in the South, the members of the White Raven Community focused on gathering and compiling the knowledge of other Communities. This starkly contrasted their peers in the Black Raven Community, who, as could be expected, focused exclusively on knowledge of the past and keeping to tradition."This spear shall engrave a mark upon your Soul! Divine Assault - Nibelung Valesti...!"With her lance promptly transforming to resemble a needle-like dragon's head, Vor attempted to skewer Mikoto in a similar manner as Nezha. What she, nor anyone else expected, was for Mikoto to arrest the momentum of her lance by simply grabbing its tip. Then, long before the reality of the situation hit her, a hand that seemed to teleport through space and time struck the right side of her face and sent her crashing into the barrier at near-light speed.Not satisfied with giving Vor a simple slap, Mikoto raised her right hand in what appeared to be slow motion. The bluish-white light concealing her body suddenly became exponentially brighter, but, at the same time, the light shrouding her face inverted to resemble a void. Once the color had stabilized, her head and shoulders resembled the backdrop of a night sky as a three-pronged halo and six sets of wings promptly manifested behind Mikoto's body. As for her hand, it changed shape to resemble an angular bident as her voice, seemingly sounding from every direction, coldly stated, "Sacred Lance - Longinus...!"Though everyone present was able to see each of Mikoto's movements, the interval between Vor crashing into the barrier and Longinus piercing her body was so short it couldn't even be regarded as an instant. The attack existed as a Quantum Superposition, and, the moment Mikoto decided to unleash it, it had 'always' been piercing Vor's body. Even if a God of Time was to reverse entropy to the exact moment when Vor impacted the barrier, her body would already be pierced.Following Vor's example, Mikoto flung the bleeding Valkyrie into the sky as she said, "It is the duty of the strong to look after and guide the weak. Those who derive pleasure from using their power to suppress and bully others deserve to experience even greater helplessness than the quality they impose upon others..."From within the nebulous void that represented Mikoto's head, two blazing blue eyes reminiscent of the light present at the birth of a cosmos suddenly snapped open. For a brief moment, her body became perfectly symmetrical as she spread her arms and wings, muttering, "Abyss of the End..." in a soul-shaking tone that sent shivers through the bodies of nearly everyone present.Responding to Mikoto's words, the sky above the arena suddenly collapsed in on itself to reveal a triangular abyss reminiscent of a spatial crack. Instead of pulling Vor in, however, the unnervingly black 'substance' within the void drooped downward like vantablack paint. Everyone that saw this felt an existential dread wash over them as Vor, realizing what might happen if the substance was allowed to touch her body, promptly shouted, "I yield...!" in an uncharacteristically emotional tone.Fortunately for the ashen-haired Valkyrie, Mikoto had controlled the abyssal-black substance so that it didn't immediately descend. Had she not, no amount of protection provided by the Central Network would have been able to prevent Vor from being erased. Vahn would have stepped in if things got out of hand, but, as far as Vor was concerned, Mikoto had just unleashed an attack far above the standards of the 4-Digit Gates without any prep time.Appearing outside the arena, the pupils of Vor's eyes contracted to the size of pinholes as she opened them to find the tip of Mikoto's Longinus less than a centimeter away from her nose."I have shown you mercy this time. There had better not be a next."Feeling a knot form in her throat for the first time in millennia, Vor opened her mouth to speak, but, before she was able to, her legs suddenly gave out. She ended up collapsing to the ground with her battle dress flaring out like a flower, and, moments later, a puddle of faintly golden liquid appeared beneath her.Retracting the tip of her Longinus, Mikoto swung her arm to the side in a manner that caused the bluish-white light shrouding her body to fragment into pieces resembling glass shards. This caused a chain reaction that quickly spread to her body. Fortunately, while this transformation had left her naked more times than she could count, Mikoto had long since mastered the timing to don proper clothing. As a result, she appeared in the same casual clothing as before. The only difference was, now that she had exhausted a large portion of her reserves, her previously twenty-something figure had diminished to that of a girl between 12-13 years of age.Seeing Mikoto's diminutive size, a wave of relief washed over Vor's body. If Mikoto had appeared in her previous form, she would have regarded the hazel-haired girl as even more of a monster. Now, despite feeling a feeling akin to existential dread towards the youthful-looking brunette, she could at least rest easy knowing Mikoto had to pay a price to wield such extreme power...If Vor knew that Mikoto would recover in mere hours thanks to Vahn, she might have peed herself a second time.........(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn is unparalleled when it comes to enticing children (O w O)...','Loki would be proud...','Pikachu used Extreme Violence...It's super effective...!')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 2161: Stepping Up